As one of the most frequent teams in the offseason, the Lakers have not played their due strength when they have played 1/4 of this season. Although in the last 7 games, it has achieved 5 wins and 2 losses, but it is still only 15 wins and 13 losses, the 6th place in the West.
Recently, two well-known commentators in the NBA, Barkley and Perkins, believe that the Lakers have been in an ups and down state since the start of the game, the defense is not good, the offense is constipated, and they have been repeatedly reversed by opponents, and the culprit is Davis.
Barkley believes that the Lakers' current problem is not James, nor Westbrook, nor coach Vogel. The team's performance so far has been ups and downs, the performance has not been as expected, and the person who should bear the pot the most is Davis.
Because Davis is in the league's top five stars, he has to play as dominantly as Durant and Alphabet Brother, not as obviously as it is now, very weak.
Perkins' comments are even more direct: the Lakers' performance this year is really not worth commenting on, it is disappointing, who is responsible for the Lakers' current performance? That's Davis! James and Westbrook must cooperate with the thick eyebrow play and tactical roles.
The Lakers can only play a more perfect team offense if Davis falls more low and the blocking and demolition execution is more perfect. The only thing the Lakers have to do now is to give the ball more to the inside and let Davis play more efficient offense and teamwork.
At first glance, their analysis makes a lot of sense. Davis has averaged 24 points, 10.2 rebounds and three assists this season, shooting 52.3 percent from the field and as low as 19.2 percent from three-point range. Compared with Durant and Alphabet Brother, the book data is indeed a lot worse.
At the same time, in terms of the certainty of the key ball and personal situation, Davis is far inferior to these two superstars. Judging by Davis' performance this season, not to mention not being in the top five of the league, there may even be problems in the top ten.
Although the outside world has thrown the fault on the thick eyebrows, this may not be the case. Because of the Lakers' current problems, aside from injury troubles, the first reason they have performed so disappointingly is the mentality.
The second reason is defense, because the Lakers' defense this season is not good. The third reason is that Wei Shao's integration process is too long, and at the same time, the playing style is also in trouble. So, Davis shouldn't have carried the pot.
The Lakers have lost a total of 13 games so far, and in 6 of these 13 games, the Lakers have led by double digits, but in the end they have been reversed by their opponents, including 2 losses to the Thunder, one each for the Blazers, Grizzlies, Kings and Clippers.
In these 6 games, the opponent is either in a bad condition or a number of main players are absent, but the Lakers have given up the victory. The biggest reason why the Lakers lose in the face of such an opponent is light and careless, so it has little to do with Davis personally.
Davis' scoring in the penalty area and shooting percentage from the basket this season are career-highs. The penalty area scored 14.5 points, ranking in the top three of the league. However, his jump shot and three-point shooting rate this season are career-low.
Even so, Davis has proven that he has attacked the basket and the penalty area more this season, in order to create space for his teammates, so that James and Westbrook have more ball power and space to break through the tearing box.
Davis' current score in the penalty area is extremely competitive, which completely subverts Perkins' argument. Thick eyebrows don't float more on the outside and wait for the ball, nor do they use jump shots more as a way to attack as they did in the previous two seasons.
This season, Davis has allowed himself to actively cater to the two backcourt cores of James and Westbrook. And in more time, I also went to play as a center, to attack the paint, with the aim of achieving the team.
As for Barkley's request to Davis, it is very reasonable. Davis really should play like Durant and Alphabet Brother, because his talent, skill, stature and alignment ability are completely so strong.
But what Barkley overlooked was that Davis' position, possession, dominance, and tactical positioning of the Lakers were completely different from the absolute core of Durant and Alphabet brothers at the Nets and Bucks.
There is no doubt that this Lakers are still James' team, with possession and rhythm control, and half of them are still on Westbrook. Davis doesn't have the kind of opportunity that Alphabet Brother can carry the ball, control the ball, go on a rampage, and let himself dominate the attack.
In addition, Davis and Durant's position, playing style and strengths are also very different. Don't forget, the Nets will always be Durant's team, with Durant, Irving and Harden have to stand on the sidelines.
On December 13, 2021, Durant scored a Career-high 51 for the Nets with his first solo lead of the season to help the team turn the Pistons 116-104. In contrast, the first two times Harden led the team alone, the effect was not ideal.
At present, Durant has raised his average of points per game to 29.4 points in the league, 1.8 points more than the second-place alphabet brother. Such performances and team status are also unattainable for Davis.
The Lakers currently have 6 games in which the lead is double digits but reversed, these games are undoubtedly supposed to win, but in the end they lost, mainly in the defense is too bad, the spirit is lax, there is a "lake three jump".
Davis said after the Lakers recently lost to the Grizzlies, who have three less starting players: "We have to put in every game with a weak mentality, make changes, and it turns out that we don't have the style of a strong man." ”
In this game against the Magic, Davis did not play due to injury. As a result, the Lakers were still 3 points behind the other side at the end of the half. If it were not for the awakening in the second half, relying on the counterattack horn blown by James, I am afraid that the Lakers would capsize in the gutter again.
The Lakers are still treating the game with the arrogant posture of the championship team and the strong, and there are big problems in the mentality and spirit level. The examples of arrogant soldiers who must lose are already innumerable in the NBA.
So, Davis is not the culprit behind the Lakers' poor performance. The Lakers' biggest problem at the moment is defense, and such defense stems from their stubborn mentality. If you don't improve your defense, it's hard to make a big difference in your record.
Time is running out for the Lakers, and after playing the Magic, they will open a wave of Devils schedule to take on the Lone Rangers, Bulls, Suns and Nets. What kind of state they can use to meet the battle at that time is indeed worth looking forward to.